March of the thirteenth year of Longwu is the season when the grass grows and the warbler flies and the peach blossoms bloom. In the early morning of the middle www.biquge.info of this month, a fleet of three small boats sailed from the Qingyi River in Jing County, Ningguofu, Nanzhili, and finally docked at the pier outside the north gate of the county seat.

Before the servant could put the springboard, Zhou Tianzheng had already jumped ashore first, greedily taking a breath of fresh air with the fragrance of aquatic plants, he had waited too long for this day to come.

At the beginning of last year, Zhou Tianzheng was transferred from the battalion officer of the First Guards Battalion of the Zuofu Army to the deputy commander of the newly formed Second Guards Town. Because the Second Garrison Town was based in Nanjing, he has been living there with his family ever since. At that time, his transfer also caused a lot of discussions, after all, the garrison town was only a garrison place, and neither the importance nor the opportunity for meritorious service could be compared with the main town. Especially when the Tartars in the north have been weakened, being transferred to Shuwei Town basically means losing the opportunity to participate in the Northern Expedition and gain military merits. Isn't it a bit of a assignment for a Guards battalion officer who has repeatedly made military exploits to be transferred to such an unimportant position?

But Zhou Tianzheng didn't care about this, he knew his ability, he might be able to be a battalion officer, and it would be a little difficult to move up the position. His transfer is also the result of the assessment organized by the Zuodu Governor's Office, and now there are many talents in the Zuofu army, and he really has not competed with others in the assessment, so he has no complaints about this arrangement.

After taking office in Nanjing, it was already relatively close to home, but because Nanjing was not very far from the first line of Xuzhou in the confrontation between the Ming and Qing dynasties, and the task of defending the town of the second garrison was not easy, Zhou Tianzheng never had time to go home to see. In September last year, the Ming Dynasty began the Northern Expedition, and the Qing army was defeated one after another, and at the beginning of this year, Henan and Shandong were successively declared to be recovered, and Nanjing became a real rear for the Ming Dynasty. At this time, Zhou Tianzheng was finally able to take a few days off to go home to see, which was also his long-cherished wish for many years.

"Daddy, Daddy! You're running so fast, the tigers can't catch up with you! As soon as his five-year-old son came ashore, he broke free from the servant's hand and ran to Zhou Tianzheng.

"Yo he, the tiger is also very fast!" Zhou Tianzheng laughed and hugged his son.

Subsequently, his wife, Yang, and two younger daughters, as well as a group of servants and maids, also went ashore, carrying large bags and small bags, which were almost all his belongings in Nanjing. Before setting off this time, he had already discussed with his wife and asked his wife and children to go back to their hometown first. After a year or two, after the Tartar is completely eradicated, he will also resign from the military and return to his hometown to live, and will never leave again in this life. As for his livelihood in the future, he doesn't have to worry about it at all, not to mention the imperial court rewards he has received in the army over the years and the bonuses issued by the Zuofu Army.

The group entered the county seat from the north gate and first found an inn to rest temporarily. Zhou Tianzheng called the housekeeper and instructed: "You go and rent a few carriages, and we will go back to Zhoujiazhuang after lunch in the city." Remember, don't alarm the county government. ”

The housekeeper agreed, turned around and went to arrange, Zhou Tianzheng was standing in front of the window of the guest room on the second floor facing the street, looking at the county seat of Jingxian County, which he had not been to for almost twelve years.

Since the first year of Hongguang, Jing County has not experienced war for more than ten years, and the recovery three years ago was also peaceful, so it is more popular. At this hour, the shops on the street have opened one after another, some vendors have already carried their goods to their usual positions, and the streets are becoming more and more pedestrians, and the noisy day is gradually begins.

It has been nearly three years since the recovery, and the people in Jingxian County have changed back to the clothes before the first year of Hongguang, but the hair has not grown so long for the time being, and the bun that can be pulled out is relatively small, which is still a little different from the past.

The cries of hawking along the street gradually increased. Suddenly, a person in a wide robe and big sleeves who appeared on the street and was dressed as a talent attracted Zhou Tianzheng's attention, and what attracted his attention was not elsewhere, but the complete bun on the top of Xiucai's head, which definitely didn't look like it had only been kept for three years.

"Could it be that this person didn't want to shave his hair at the beginning, fled to the south for refuge, and only returned to his hometown in Jing County after recovery?" Zhou Tianzheng was suddenly a little curious.

Just in Zhou Tianzheng's somewhat curious gaze, Xiucai angrily glanced around the side of the street, and finally sent a target, took a few steps forward to a hawker's stall, pointed at the hawker and scolded something, of course the hawker did not dare to offend Master Xiucai, and repeatedly asked for forgiveness.

As he spoke, Xiucai reached out and took it on the top of his head, and actually took off the entire bun. Zhou Tianzheng was a little surprised, it turned out that this person was actually wearing a wig, and then he also found the goods on the hawker's stall, nothing else, but a wig with a bun on the top. At this time, Zhou Tianzheng almost guessed what happened, it should be this show who bought the hawker's wig and found that it was not easy to use, and turned around to settle the account with the hawker, and suddenly couldn't help but laugh dumbly.

The number of onlookers in the noisy place gradually increased, and Zhou Tianzheng stopped paying attention after a few glances. At this time, a servant came up to report: "Master, this is the Ningguofu Times sent by the store." ”

"Oh, take it." Zhou Tianzheng knew that under the auspices and advocacy of Pang Shuai, newspapers have now been set up in big cities such as Wuchang, Changsha, Nanchang, Nanjing, and Guangzhou, mainly publishing some new and important news, with the aim of broadening the horizons of the people and playing a guiding role in public opinion. I didn't expect that there are newspapers in this Jing County now.

When he took it over, he saw that the newspaper had only four pages, and the printing level was average, mainly text-based, which was far worse than the "Nanjing Times" he usually read. But when you think about it, it's no wonder that in such a small place with a low literacy rate, the audience for newspapers is not very large. This "Ningguofu Times" must also be government-run, not for profit, and rough printing is inevitable.

Today, the front page headline of the Ningguofu Times is "Thousands of miles of border passes are full of Han cavalry, Kyushu rivers and mountains are all Chinese", which says that the Duke of Chu, the governor of the left army, the general Pang Yue and the governor of the right army Wang Dongri have led the main force of the Northern Expedition to recover the Beijing division, and the red flag of the Ming Wangshi division was once again inserted on the northern side wall after a lapse of thirteen years, and the slave chief Fulin only led a few remnants to flee to Liaodong.

This news had already been read in the Nanjing Times on the day that Zhou Tianzheng left Nanjing, and it should have been last month. At that time, he, like all his comrades-in-arms, was so excited that he couldn't help himself, and the recovery of Shenjing meant that the Tartars were completely finished, and the Ming Dynasty was not far from the day of Zhongxing.

But today, there seems to be a few new pieces of news added to the Ningguofu Times, such as: Zhenxi General Sun Kewang and Anxi General Li Dingguo have led their troops to attack Shaanxi and recover Xi'an......

Zhou Tianzheng knew that this Sun Kewang had been entrenched in Yunnan and listened to the tune and did not listen to the announcement, and the reason why he was willing to follow the edict to the north from the west road this time was mostly for his own selfish interests......

But this thought was only fleeting in his mind, and he immediately denied the possibility of this happening, because he believed in Zuofu Army, believed in Pang Shuai, and in today's world, there is no one who is no longer the opponent of Zuofu Army.

Maybe in the near future, the news of Liaodong's recovery will also come...... At this moment, Zhou Tianzheng's heart was full of affirmation.

......

In the evening, Zhou Tianzheng and his family arrived at Zhoujiazhuang, thirty miles south of the county seat of Jingxian County, where he had been absent for 12 years.

Twelve years have passed, things are not people, everything is so familiar to him, and it is so strange.

After the recovery of Jing County, the government returned the fields and houses that originally belonged to the Zhou family to Zhou Tianzheng, and sent someone to Nanjing to send the title deed and house deed to him, but because he had a task before, he never had time to come back.

After entering Zhoujiazhuang, Zhou Tianzheng and his wife and children got off the carriage, and the servants also dismounted. The villagers along the way looked at these strangers with curiosity. At that time, Zhou Yuanqing organized righteous teachers to oppose the Qing Dynasty, and after the defeat and death, the entire Zhoujiazhuang was slaughtered by the Qing army.

Zhou Tianzheng didn't care, smiling and nodding to the villagers along the way. The villagers felt that this official was kind to him, and he also smiled kindly.

Not long after, I finally arrived at the door of the old house of the Zhou family in the village. At the end of last year, the county order of Jing County organized people to repair the Zhou Mansion, and all the missing furniture in it was also completed, waiting for the day when Deputy General Zhou returned to his hometown.

Zhou Tianzheng was standing at the gate and looking at the plaque with "Zhou Mansion" written on the lintel, and an unprecedented sour feeling filled his entire chest in an instant, and tears came out of his eyes. After more than ten years in the army, he thought that he had already seen through life and death and would not be easily emotional, but at this time he really discovered that his hometown and homeland have always occupied the softest place in his heart.

The door creaked open, and a white-haired lame old man walked out, looked at Zhou Tianzheng from a distance for a while, was stunned for a moment, and after a while, he trembled and asked, "Are you ...... Master? ”

Zhou Tianzheng also recognized the old man in front of him, hurriedly stepped forward to support him, nodded with tears in his eyes, and said excitedly: "Uncle Quan, it's me!" I'm Zheng'er, I'm back! ”

The old man was Zhou Quan, the housekeeper of the Zhou Mansion that year, and after the defeat of Zhou Yuanqing's army, he fled to the south for refuge, and only came back after the recovery of Jing County. After the government knew that he was the housekeeper of the Zhou Mansion back then, they handed over the old mansion of the Zhou family to him to take care of.

Old Zhou Quan burst into tears and cried: "Young Master, I have finally waited for the day when you come back!" I couldn't stand my lord back then! The old lady was killed, so many villagers died, and I was the only one who escaped! I'm not human, I'm incompetent! The lord is as kind to me as a mountain, but I can't even keep the lord's corpse....... Tartars, Tartars are a bunch of brutes......"

Zhou Tianzheng hugged Zhou Quan tightly, and tears also welled up: "Don't say it, Uncle Quan!" When I saw your old man, it was as if I saw my father and my mother again. From now on, you will always be my relatives and elders! You don't have to worry anymore, the world is about to be peaceful, the Tartars are finished, and they will never come again......"

Zhou Tianzheng's wife, Yang, and several maids also burst into tears, and the servants also lowered their heads with red eyes. Only his son, Hu'er, stood in place, wondering why the adults were crying.

......

There is a grave at the foot of a hill north of Zhoujiazhuang, where the Zhou family who died are buried. But Zhou Yuanqing's tomb was empty, after he was killed, the Qing army did not even let go of his corpse, and later the Jingxian county government could only replace the tomb with a mound when repairing the tomb for the Zhou family.

Zhou Tianzheng went to the grave of his parents under the careful guidance, lit the incense candles he brought, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed several times. His wife also brought her eldest son, Hu'er, and knelt down and kowtowed.

"Father, mother, I'm coming back to see you. Now that the Central Plains has been recovered, the Tartars are finished, and your revenge, as well as the revenge of all the Han people in the world, has been avenged. I didn't disgrace your second elder, I have killed countless Tartars on the battlefield over the years......" Zhou Tianzheng burst into tears, "Now that I have come back with my wife and children, the Zhou family has also come back, and I will resign and go home soon, guarding our Zhou family's fields and mansions and never leaving again." It's been more than ten years, and the child is really homesick, I really miss you......"

......

At night, Zhou Tianzheng sat in the small garden of the back house with his son in his arms, watching the bright moon in the night sky. He remembered twelve years ago, on the last night before he left home from the army, it was in this small garden that his father gave his last words. The moon that night was as bright as it is today, and it seemed that it had not changed for more than ten years.

"Daddy, did you live here when you were a kid?" Son Hu'er asked suddenly.

Zhou Tianzheng smiled and nodded: "Yes, Daddy was born here and grew up here." When Daddy was young, your grandfather often sat in this courtyard with Daddy like this and watched the stars. ”

Hu'er asked curiously: "Then Daddy, why didn't you come back for so long?" ”

"Because then we couldn't beat the Tartars, and now, the Tartars can't beat us."

"Why can't the Tartars beat us now?"

Zhou Tianzheng touched his son's little head and smiled gently: "Because, now there are many big heroes like Da Da Shuai among our Han people!" ”

The breeze was gentle, and the moonlight in the small garden was like water, just like twelve years ago.

(End of book)